MEDA is proud to announce that we were one of three finalists in the non-government organizations (NGO) category for the 2008 Ontario Innovation Excellence Awards held Oct. 29 in Kitchener, Ontario.

The awards "celebrate the imaginative spirit of Ontario's innovative leaders" with innovations that have or are likely to influence the market or change a thought process. They honour innovators in every field of business and organization leadership in the categories of finance, intellectual design, strategic positioning, sustainable development, government and non-government organizations.

"As one of 19 nominees in the NGO category," says president Allan Sauder, "MEDA was in good company with the likes of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Centre for International Governance Innovation, both of Waterloo, and Zerofootprint and Evergreen, both of Toronto. We are honored by the nomination."

MEDA was nominated for its leadership in creating a global microfinance industry that today provides financial services to more than 150 million poor entrepreneurs. The specific innovation that was highlighted was MEDA Trust, a web-based tool that allows individual supporters to choose a loan client from one of MEDA’s microfinance partners, and then follow how the loan is made and being repaid. When the loan is repaid, the supporter chooses who to support next with their personal "portfolio."
"This has proven very effective in linking younger people and people wanting a more personal connection with microfinance clients in places as diverse as Afghanistan and Nicaragua," says Sauder. "Whole families are getting involved in managing their portfolio."

Awards organizer Jon Rohr notes that, "Each of the nominated companies has set standards in their field, either locally or even on a provincial and national basis. They are great examples of the spirit of innovation we wanted to honor them with this new program."

With eligibility wide open to literally any innovator in any field, the awards attracted 126 nominees – a respectable number for a first-time event.

A panel of five judges rated the nominations according to the PEOPLE criteria: Problem Solving, Engage Consensus, Organizational Structure, Passion, Leveraging Differences and Empower.

The OIE Awards are produced by Exchange Magazine for Business.